So maybe the tube isn't a festering pit of disease...

lost_in_thought

Exercise can prevent a cold:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11664660

So this might go some way to explaining why I get a cold every time I use PT...

Or maybe not.

dhope

Foul stock picture they use in every cold related article.

notsoblue

Interesting article. Probably a combination of that and the fact that on PT you're in very close contact with a random assortment of people who could well be carrying strains of common cold you haven't been exposed to yet.

jonginge

It is a festering pit of disease. At least we think so. Our (sub-conscious) stress levels probably go through the roof when we even comtemplate using PT instead of the bike.

I try not to touch too many surfaces when on the train/tube... still healthier when I don't have my PT 'rest' days.

hatbeard

When I was 19.5 stone I seemingly caught every single cold going, now I'm 5 stone lighter and run 3 times a week I often feel myself getting the initial symptoms of a cold but then it goes away and so far I've not succumbed fully since I started running in April.

lost_in_thought

Yeah Hatbeard, I find that too, however if I have to stop exercising and take the tube for a week, like recently, I get a cold.

A bit of exercise generally sorts it out though!

rjsterry

Although if you are a regular tube user, you don't get so many colds either. It's occasional exposure that puts you at more risk.

dhope

I got a cold within a couple of hours of being knocked off the bike a fortnight ago. Clearly just the thought of PT is enough to bring me out in hives.
Tend to get colds rarely and not too severely though, and certainly less so the more exercise I'm doing, less stressed I am etc.

EKE_38BPM

A couple of weeks ago I was a little lazy and took my bike on the train rather than riding the 4 miles I had to go. Some germ ridden passenger coughed and sneezed for the whole journey and a few hours later I could feel the sore throat that was the prelude to man-flu.

When I woke up I felt awful, but, like a good cycle commuter, I jumped on my bike and went to work. At work I tooks some drugs to help with the symptoms (Crack gets a bad press, but it has healing properties) and carried on. I rode home at the end of the day and dosed myself with honey and lemon (as well as a fair amount of Jameson for medicinal purposes) and went to bed.

I felt exactly the same the next day and did the same thing again. Colleagues were now telling me that I was going to have to take some days off and they don't know how I'd ride home etc.

Next day, I felt fine. Still a bit of a cough but other than that I AOK.

The moral of the story: Stay off PT and always ride!

jonginge

Ooh, related:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11673034

I'm not holding my breath, though. (Except when on PT)

il_principe

I've never been healthier since taking up cycling. Never seem to get properly ill anymore - aside from a cheeky few 'sickies' where I've used a sniffle as an excuse for a few days off. Conversely though, I sometimes find that I get a little ill after a big effort, like a Sportive for example. Anyone else get this?

asprilla

If I use public transport I try to make sure I've substantially raised my medicinal alcohol content before making the return journey. It's the only way to be safe.

EKE_38BPM

Getting a little ill after a big effort makes sense.

Look at all of the athletes that go down with an unspecified virus during training or after a big event. Really putting in a big effort can leave you a little run down and open to whatever is doing the rounds.

jonginge

Il Principe wrote:

I've never been healthier since taking up cycling. Never seem to get properly ill anymore - aside from a cheeky few 'sickies' where I've used a sniffle as an excuse for a few days off. Conversely though, I sometimes find that I get a little ill after a big effort, like a Sportive for example. Anyone else get this?

Yep, sometimes a bit of a sore throat. The body is repairing damage from the exercise and lets its guard down on other fronts. I've seen it written that the pro riders are advised to avoid crowds and plane journeys for a few hours after races end.

shm_uk

People who exercise regularly are less likely to get a cold, researchers say...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11664660

EKE_38BPM

So, who is healthier, the regular PT user who regularly gets colds and other bugs, but who's immune system has a large store of antibodies of viruses that they have already fought off, or the 'athlete' who is fitter and doesn't get many cold and bugs in the first place?

hatbeard

EKE_38BPM wrote:

So, who is healthier, the regular PT user who regularly gets colds and other bugs, but who's immune system has a large store of antibodies of viruses that they have already fought off, or the 'athlete' who is fitter and doesn't get many cold and bugs in the first place?

the PT getting Athlete?

nich

EKE_38BPM wrote:

So, who is healthier, the regular PT user who regularly gets colds and other bugs, but who's immune system has a large store of antibodies of viruses that they have already fought off, or the 'athlete' who is fitter and doesn't get many cold and bugs in the first place?

The athlete

I don't how much of a difference it makes that you already have antibodies from past viruses, as they change and mutate anyway right?

I think there are about 200 viruses that cause the common cold, and I'm sure I've had over that number of colds in my life.

Having said that, I don't seem to get too many these days, so maybe I've collected them all, just like pokemon!

jonginge

shm_uk wrote:

People who exercise regularly are less likely to get a cold, researchers say...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11664660

I'm sure I read that somewhere before. *wracks brain...looks up...lightbulb moment*

shm_uk

JonGinge wrote:

shm_uk wrote:

People who exercise regularly are less likely to get a cold, researchers say...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11664660

I'm sure I read that somewhere before. *wracks brain...looks up...lightbulb moment*

Yep, rumbled for not being bothered to at least read the OP's first comment...

Haven't we all known for years that you feel better if you exercise regularly etc.
How come it's suddenly an accepted principle just because the BBC published a story.

johnny2legs

For me, one of the main health benefits from not getting PT is not having to watch other people turn into absolute animals as soon as they set foot on a bus/train.

On several occaisions I've seen people actually lashing out at someone else who had the nerve to bump into them or get in their way.

deptfordmarmoset

I've had one cold in 4 years and that's with working with young children over 2 winters - the little ones are terrible for bringing you new the latest playground mutation, like cats presenting you with a dead bird. So it seems as though - touch wood - that I have an improved resistance from avoiding PT and cycling. But I'm not getting on a bus simply to see whether I catch a cold....

Mind you, because of a medical condition I'm considered to be at risk so I get anti-flu jabs - they may be giving some protection from common colds.

Oddjob62

Over 3 years at my current job with no sick days, in fact i've only been ill (or at least a bit fluey) for a few hours on one occasion, and a few litres of OJ and a good night's rest sorted that.